The disclosure relates generally to cooling apparatuses for power generation systems and methods for installing the same. More specifically, the disclosure relates to turbomachines with cooling apparatuses therein, and methods for installing cooling apparatuses within conventional turbomachines.
Conventional turbine systems are frequently used to generate power for, e.g., electric generators. A working fluid such as hot gas or steam can be forced across sets of turbine blades coupled to a rotor of the turbine system. The force of the working fluid on the blades causes those blades (and the coupled body of the rotor) to rotate. In many cases, the rotor body is coupled to the drive shaft of a dynamoelectric machine such as an electric generator. In this sense, initiating rotation of the turbine system rotor can also rotate the drive shaft in the electric generator to generate an electrical current (associated with a power output).
Variables such as the turbine's efficiency, power output, and risk of failure are at least partially dependent on the internal temperature of particular components and passages, such as inlets, outlets, etc. The temperature of a working fluid flowing through the turbine system will affect outputs, such as the rotation torque and/or power generated. Designing a turbine system to have a particular operating temperature can improve these outputs. The process of controlling operating temperatures to increase the power output of a system can be known as “turbine power augmentation.” To manage the temperature of a turbine system, various cooling systems may be deployed.
The health and performance of a turbomachine can be at least partially dependent on the amount of cooling required, and the means by which coolants are provided to various components of the turbomachine. In conventional systems, cooling air can be diverted from a compressor component of the turbomachine to cool other components, and this diverted air may be known as bleed air and/or compressor bleed air. Reducing and/or minimizing the amount of bleed air taken from the compressor of a turbomachine can enhance a turbomachine's operational performance and efficiency, in addition to providing several other technical benefits not specifically discussed.